On the afternoon of July 18th, the Municipal Natural Resources and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, in accordance with the Interim Regulations on Rewards for Successful Geological Disaster Avoidance in Hubei Province and the Interim Measures for Rewards for Successful Geological Disaster Avoidance in Yichang City, awarded two individuals from Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County and Yiling District of Yichang City with the fourth-level reward for successful geological disaster avoidance. They were each presented with a bonus of 4,000 yuan. These individuals demonstrated proactive inspection and keen judgment in geological disaster prevention, successfully issuing early warnings that averted two potential geological disasters and prevented possible casualties involving two households and four people.
From Rolling Pebbles Detecting Danger: A Textbook Case of Disaster Avoidance in Qinjiaping Village. "Clatter, clatter..." A few faint sounds, swallowed by the curtain of rain, yet causing unease. On the afternoon of July 18th, Liu Changcheng, a villager from Qinjiaping Village, Zhangcunping Town, Yiling District, attributed his family's successful avoidance of a geological disaster to the widespread education on disaster prevention knowledge provided by town and village cadres.
At 4:30 PM on May 19th, in Qinjiaping Village, Zhangcunping Town, Yiling District. Rain had been falling continuously for several days. Villager Liu Changcheng, wearing a raincoat, conducted a thorough "dragnet-style" inspection around his house as repeatedly emphasized by town and village cadres. As he walked to the west side of his dwelling, he suddenly stopped. On the slope, several pebbles were rolling down the wet rock face, landing near him. In that instant, images of cadres' home visits for science popularization and key points from geological experts explaining "pre-collapse precursors" flashed through Liu Changcheng's mind like an electric current.
"There's a geological disaster risk," Liu Changcheng said. Having worked as a mine safety officer, he trusted his judgment. Without hesitation, he immediately called Wang Dehui, the village's Women's Federation chairperson, and reported the danger.
The danger was a command. Relevant personnel from Zhangcunping Town and Qinjiaping Village sprang into action upon hearing the news, with stationed geological experts rushing to the scene. With the help of town and village cadres, Liu Changcheng's family of two was urgently evacuated to a safe area. At 5:45 PM, the slope on the west side of Liu Changcheng's house suddenly collapsed, with approximately 150 cubic meters of rock and soil sliding down. The collapsed material impacted the house, causing severe damage to the walls of a first-floor bedroom and storage room, as well as a second-floor bedroom. Furniture and belongings inside were destroyed, resulting in direct economic losses estimated at about 100,000 yuan.
Rewinding to May 16th, after a heavy rain warning was issued, Yiling District responded swiftly to the "flood season." Natural resources departments coordinated closely with the meteorological bureau, precisely targeting key mountainous areas like Zhangcunping Town. All town and village cadres, geological experts, and monitors in the district were deployed to villages and households, teaching residents hand-in-hand how to recognize precursors of mountain collapses and rockfalls, and repeatedly urging "bed-moving actions," transforming "paper plans" into "muscle memory" for the public.
Village Party Secretary Zheng Wanbo stated that it was precisely these fundamental skills of independent disaster recognition and proactive risk avoidance that enabled residents to detect danger at critical moments, achieving early detection, early reporting, and early evacuation. Although this geological disaster occurred, thanks to group monitoring and prevention, it caused no casualties, constituting a successful avoidance.
After the disaster, Yiling District and Zhangcunping Town immediately arranged temporary shelter for the threatened residents, implemented closed control of the collapsed danger zone, and assigned personnel for 24-hour patrols and dynamic monitoring of hazard changes. Geological technical experts remained stationed on-site to conduct disaster investigation and hazard assessment. After the slope stabilized, Zhangcunping Town promptly organized hazard removal and control measures, primarily involving "dangerous rock clearance + active protective net" treatment. Professionals were also organized to repair the damaged house, with a total investment of 220,000 yuan. On July 9th, Liu Changcheng and his family returned to live in their home.
On July 18th, based on the aforementioned regulations and measures, the Municipal Natural Resources and Urban-Rural Development Bureau awarded Liu Changcheng the fourth-level reward for successful geological disaster avoidance and presented him with a 4,000 yuan bonus.
From a Crack to a 1,000 Cubic Meter Landslide: His Decision Saved a Family. "I've lived here for decades and have never seen rain this heavy," said Liu Zuowu, a villager from Lu'ercao Village, Wantan Town, Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, on July 18th, still shaken when recalling the heavy rainstorm two months prior. Liu Zuowu's home is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a sloped field behind the house. To guard against mountain floods, he specifically built a stone retaining wall and dug an open drainage ditch. However, the rain started relentlessly from the early morning of May 17th and became even heavier and more intense the next day.
Around 11:30 AM on May 18th, Liu Zuowu sensed something was wrong. Braving the rain, he ran behind his house to find the drainage ditch completely flooded, and the back wall had cracked open a nearly 3-centimeter gap! "Having participated in the village's disaster prevention drills, I immediately thought this was a precursor to a landslide," he said. Without hesitation, he called the village committee. Village staff responded swiftly, organizing the emergency evacuation of his family.
That afternoon, the rain intensified, turning into a "downpour" (short-duration heavy rainfall). Liu Zuowu and his family relocated to his uncle's house temporarily. Several hours later, a terrifying scene unfolded—the hillside behind the house suddenly experienced a collapse and slide, with approximately 1,000 cubic meters of earth and rock pouring down, directly destroying the back walls of two rooms. Later, Village Party Branch member Chen Jibing arrived at the scene to find the bedroom half-filled with earth and rock, the bed almost buried. "If people had still been inside, the consequences are unthinkable," he said.
After on-site verification by the Wantan Natural Resources and Planning Office and the Seventh Geological Brigade of the Hubei Provincial Geological Bureau, this was identified as a small-scale shallow soil collapse and slide. Fortunately, due to timely detection and decisive evacuation, no casualties occurred.
This successful avoidance was no accident. Since the start of this year's flood season, Wufeng Tujia Autonomous County, addressing the characteristics of dispersed and concealed geological disaster risks in mountainous areas, moved beyond the old method of only focusing on registered hazard points. It extended publicity, training, and practical drills to risk zones, steep slopes around houses, and buildings on slopes. Natural resources departments, together with town and village cadres, visited households, using accessible methods like courtyard meetings and door-to-door guidance to teach residents how to recognize disaster precursors such as "mountain cracking, falling rocks and soil, abnormal sounds from slopes, and water seepage in cracks." Comprehensive avoidance drills have enabled more and more people, like Liu Zuowu, to develop the ability to independently recognize risks, proactively avoid danger, and quickly self-rescue.
The flood season is not over yet. Disaster prevention is life protection. Please take an extra look around your house, learn a bit more about disaster prevention knowledge—it could save your family's life at a critical moment. Share to remind those around you: report dangers promptly to add an extra layer of safety.